Chinese court dismisses Fiat’s appeal

A Chinese court dismissed in early January an appeal by Italian carmaker Fiat SpA against locally-owned Great Wall Motor Co. for alleged patent infringement on one car model, the Chinese company said. Great Wall said the judgment is “final and conclusive” and no further appeals may be lodged on this dispute in mainland China. Despite its court victory in China, the Hebei province-based company continues to fight a legal battle on the same dispute brought by Fiat to an Italian court. In July 2008, a Turin court ruled in favor of Fiat, Italy’s largest industrial company by revenue, in the copyright infringement case and banned Great Wall from distributing its Peri model in the European Union, saying the car was too similar to Fiat’s Panda. (January 7, 2009)